Thursday, June 30, 2011

Woke to cooler temps and the rest of the day was nice and cool compared to yesterday! We even had a little rain shower late this afternoon.

While on our walk this morning we ran into Mr. Rattlesnake again—he was in the shade and as it was kind of cool he made no attempt to strike at Emmi as she ran past. Beyond scary!!! We did vaccinate Emmi against rattlesnakes this year. Our veterinarian has had great success with the vaccine—he told us that a rattlesnake bite would kill a dog as small as Emmi so we decided to take the plunge and get the vaccination.

Rollie caught a cold a week or so before they arrived and the cold symptoms had just been lingering. His cough was disturbing both his and Gina’s sleep. So, we sent the two of them off to visit the local nurse practitioner this morning—he came home armed with some good cough medicine and an antibiotic.

Michael and Rollie managed to complete their project from yesterday—got the gutter re-installed. Gina finished the tops of four of her placemats and I quilted a bit.

Tonight Geri and Larry joined us for a spaghetti dinner—with cesar salad and homemade bread. For dessert I had made chocolate ice cream—oh my—I could have eaten the whole thing! We had a great time visiting and telling stories!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

When we came home this spring we noticed the snow sliding off our metal roof had ripped one section of gutter along with the soffit board from one of the overhangs on the deck. Michael and Rollie were going to repair that section but look what I caught them doing!!!! And, not too long after I snapped this photo Gina went out to join them—the three of them watched in slow motion as the wind caused the umbrella to slowly rise up out of the table and float away landing up against the house with a broken support. They all tried to catch the umbrella with no success—strange. But that same umbrella also managed to float up onto the roof a few years ago when our friends Ralph and Angie were staying here—Ralph climbed up on the roof for me to retrieve the umbrella.

For lunch we had lagniappe—yep, lagniappe—bet you can’t guess what that was! Michael and I sure had a hard time even figuring out what Gina and Rollie were saying much less what it was. It’s a term the folks in Louisiana use for cleaning out the refrigerator of leftovers—a little of this and that. In Arkansas my Daddy (who hated leftovers) would call a lunch like the one we had today “mixed meal colic”—now that makes about as much sense as lagniappe!

After our strange lunch we headed to Big Timber—and have I mentioned it was dang hot here today???? 97 degrees in Big Timber—what’s up with that??? Michael had a bunch of men errands to run—you know—the lumber yard, the auto parts store, the tire shop, etc. And look who they found-- Geri and Larry had emailed us saying they would be near Big Timber soon—we gave them helpful hints about where to stay and told them we would look forward to seeing them. Rollie was waiting outside the car parts store for Michael and saw them drive by, flagged them down and ran up to meet them where they were able to pull over. Michael gave them directions for the boondocking spot and directions to our house. Larry and Geri joined us for happy hour tonight and will be coming back for supper tomorrow night. Isn’t this RVing world wonderful!

The water is definitely high—really high, in the East Boulder River higher than Michael says he has ever seen-- Gina and I got in lots of shopping while the guys ran errands. That Gina, you have to watch her every minute—she purchased for me a beautiful pair of earrings while I was standing right in sight of her and her credit card—that girl is sneaky! We met the guys at Pamida Drug for Wilcoxson ice cream milkshakes, YUM!!!

Back up the Boulder to rescue Emmi who was left home alone.

It was another special day with our friends! Rollie made a new friend in the tire shop—don’t know why this buffalo is in the tire shop???

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Well, if you don’t like Montana weather, stick around it will change quickly! Yesterday was a perfect weather day, today it got plumb hot as we say in the south!!!

After yesterday’s wonderful trip we had planned to take it easy today. On the agenda although was going over to Lonn’s to move the mini-excavator for him. The little machine was located over on the backside of the ranch at the cabins and pond. The drive over to the ranch is beautiful and the drive up and over the mountain to the backside is spectacular. The wildflowers are everywhere in full, beautiful bloom.

Rollie even got to experience driving the little excavator—doesn’t he look like a pro??

But then the real pro took over for loading it into the trailer--

These are the two cabins—isn’t that the most beautiful of spots??

We left Lonn and LoraLee’s taking a short detour up the West Boulder Road and then headed home. A quick lunch of ham sandwiches then Gina and I started quilting lessons. While Michael and I were in Louisiana visiting them in late December Gina and I went to a quilt store, purchasing a pattern and fabric for a set of placemats. Plans were to make those placemats in the desert this past winter but life intervened and Gina and Rollie had to head back to Louisiana earlier than expected. So, today was the day.

Michael and Rollie spent the afternoon solving the world’s problems and discussing solar, oil production, etc. So, we all had a very productive afternoon. Emmi slept!

Rollie and Gina treated us to dinner tonight making crawfish etouffee that was simply delicious! The crawfish came frozen in Gina’s luggage all the way from Houston! We enjoyed the crawfish etouffee with rice, salad and homemade bread, YUM!!! We all with the exception of Rollie enjoyed various combinations of cream cheese pound cake, strawberries and ice cream for dessert.

Monday, June 27, 2011

We almost made it to the ghost town of Independence but were stopped by snow drifts about 2 miles short of our goal! But what a glorious day we had getting there! About 25 miles from our house sits the old ruins of the mining town of Independence. The road getting there is one big rock/mud/water mess! But our little jeep was a trooper today and just crawled up the mountain with ease. For the first time since owning it we took the top down and what a gorgeous day we had!

Sighted these elk along the river on the way up.

Of course Emmi got to go along.

The highlight of the day, this youngster moose.

See the snowballs both in the air at the same time—Gina got the bad end of that deal!

Our lunch spot alongside the fast moving Boulder River.

The nasty road, there is so much snow melt, water is running across and down the road much of the way. There are huge mud puddles that make one a little nervous to cross. This is where we stopped, too much snow!

We had just a glorious day taking in all the scenery, enjoying the jeep, looking for wildlife. Michael was an excellent chauffer all day. The weather was perfect and so was the company, we couldn’t have asked for a better day!

We didn’t get home until after 7pm but were all starving. We had started a batch of baby back ribs this morning so finished those up on the grill along with some rosemary/garlic roasted potatoes, baked beans and fruit. Now we are definitely not hungry and are all headed for our pillows!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

We were up early to start for the airport in Billings but not near as early as Rollie and Gina were up in Houston to get to the airport for their departure so as to arrive in Billings at 9:35AM, yes AM! We were so glad to see them, Gina and I just hugged and hugged and shed a couple tears—it was just so good to see our friends.

And of course the Clarks had errands to run in the big city. Mike and Rollie made a quick Harbor Freight stop and then we all made a 2 shopping cart stop at Costco. We then wanted to take them to a local kind of restaurant for lunch but because it was Sunday—no dice—we had to settle for Famous Dave’s which was good even if it was a chain.

We retrieved the Emmi girl at Nat’s and came home to unload the massive Costco run. After settling Rollie and Gina in the motorhome we all headed up to the local tourist attraction, Natural Bridge State Park.

I’ve blogged about Natural Bridge several times. The entire Boulder River during most times of the year goes entirely through a hole in the bedrock shooting out into a deep pool.

This photo was taken in August, 2010. You can just see the river in the middle top of the photo.

In times of high water the entire Boulder River spills over and through various holes of the “natural bridge” forming a spectacular falls. Quite the change isn’t it?? The sound of the falls is amazing, you can feel the spray—a totally different change of scenery.

Happy hour on the deck—what a wonderful way to end Gina and Rollie’s first day here in Montana. We are so blessed to have these guys as friends!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Yellowstone River is at flood stage, significantly flooding the Sweet Grass County fairgrounds which caused the cancelation of the rodeo tonight. But all the other festivities such as car show and parade went on today as planned. It is small town America at its best. Lots of flags, fire trucks, kids collecting candy thrown from the rigs in the parade and lots of visiting with friends and neighbors. Here are some of the photos of the car show and parade:

We had a great time—snacked on fresh squeezed lemonade and kettle popcorn—real nutritious but oh so good!

These little guys were having a ball!

And according to local legend/old wives, etc. high water is over—when the wild roses bloom, high water is over. I noticed this wild rose blossom while mowing the grass this afternoon. The rivers are roaring but maybe the worst of the flooding is over.

We are off to Billings early tomorrow morning to retrieve Rollie and Gina at the airport, yippee!!

Friday, June 24, 2011

After our walk in shirtsleeves again Michael took off with the excavator for Robyn and Claire’s to repair some of their driveway damage which happened in late May when we had all the heavy rain.

I weeded a flower bed, did a little cleaning in the motorhome and got started on cleaning the jeep. The jeep still contained some Arizona dust I think and a whole lot of East Boulder Road mud! It is so nice, clean and shiny now.

The excitement is building, Rollie and Gina arrive on Sunday! I baked a cream cheese pound cake this afternoon especially for Rollie—I can’t remember how many of those cakes I baked last summer when they were here. We are so happy our friends are coming to see us. We are hoping Mike and Pat will also find a way to come visit too but they sure have a lot going on—finishing up the cabin, making a trike out of a bike and all sorts of things! We would love to see them, too.

After Michael got home I started cleaning on the dually truck. What a mess—I think there was a whole lot of East Boulder Road mud in that one! When I came inside to make supper Michael washed the truck. It is sure to rain now with two really clean vehicles! Just as we were sitting down to supper the thunderstorm came—see, it just doesn’t pay to wash vehicles!

A customer, Beccy, came by and dropped off two quilts for quilting—one a very soft, feminine pinkish quilt and the other a bright, vivid color scheme.

Since it is still Father’s Day week I can talk about my Dad. Every time I wash vehicles or clean the interior of one I think of him. Daddy loved new cars and wanted the cars clean ALL the time. Mom and Dad lived on a gravel road so keeping the vehicles clean was almost a full time job but somehow he managed! When my vehicle gets too dirty I can almost hear Daddy preaching at me! Wild iris, isn’t it beautiful!!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Today was the day for yard work—guess I was feeling sorry for Rick and decided to join him! I mowed and weed whacked around the worm fence down at the road, mowed Joe and Tammy’s yard, mowed our lane, the walking paths through the pastures and weed whacked around the yard. That was enough for one day!

Michael was in the shop all day building wood burning stoves—yes, the man can build stoves. We had one of his stoves in our former house and it worked very well! There are many of his stoves in houses in this community and everyone loves how well they work. Michael is building one for us to put downstairs in the basement and a fireplace insert for a client.

We didn’t need a stove today—it was our warmest day so far. Thunder clouds built up this afternoon but so far only a little sprinkle of rain.

Nat came for lunch and we had pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and oven fried potatoes, YUM!

The little robin was still sitting on the deck rail when we got up this morning but about a hour later he was gone—guess he got brave enough to fly.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

We were having dinner out on the deck tonight when a mama robin flew in and fed this little guy a worm. He is sitting inside the corner posts of our deck and must have flown to get to that spot. He doesn’t seem to be too interested in repeating the flying experience. I waited patiently with the camera to see if she would feed him again but no such luck.

Michael went over to Lonn’s this morning to help with a broken sprinkler line and I quilted all day in between playing soccer with Emmi. She discovered a soccer ball in the basement the other day and has been having a ball with it. Today we took it outside and by the time she had chased that ball all over the yard she was one pooped puppy!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

And at last we have some warmth and sunshine. We took our walk in shirt sleeves this morning—a first! A beautiful day!

Michael spent another day in the excavator perched up high on the bank of another irrigation ditch cleaning out the last of the mud, debris and silt the May earth slide sent down our irrigation ditch. What a mess! I walked over and took him lunch and later in the afternoon a snack. Emmi was quiet upset that she did not get to go—the cows and their calves are still in that pasture so no dogs.

In between all my walks (I sure got my exercise today) I worked on a customer quilt. I’ve used black light chalk to trace stencils onto quilts several times but today was just not the day to use it—I think the entire quilt studio will glow in the dark now as big a mess I made!

Mom and Chuck had a day off from their jobs in Yellowstone Park and took a drive out into the Lamar Valley. Today was a banner wildlife day for them—saw 2 young grizzly bears, a black bear and two mama moose with babies!!!! Now that’s a great day in the Park!

Chuck got a great shot of the one pair, didn’t he!

The only wildlife we saw today—this sandhill crane was by himself, unusual.

Chokecherry jelly in the making.

That’s the roof of our house viewed from up on the irrigation ditch in the neighbor’s pasture.

Monday, June 20, 2011

That’s what my husband has when it comes to running equipment perched on the side of a steep hill! At the end of May when we got the massive amounts of rain two huge rocks slid into the irrigation ditch over on Joe and Tammy’s place stopping the flow of water and causing the ditch to overflow. Today was one of the first days Michael felt safe enough on the wet ditch bank to try and repair the wash out.

The wash out—this is a very steep hillside. Photos of the work in progress, at one time Michael got stuck in the irrigation ditch and almost turned the little machine over—took him a hour to get unstuck!

All fixed.

I spent the day finishing up Aunt Margaret’s quilt, doing laundry and other chores. I’ve almost got another customer quilt on the frame, too. Emmi spent the day throwing a duck at me!

This afternoon the weather turned nice—sunny and warm. By week’s end we should be at 80 degrees!!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

My Dad died in 2002 and while I miss him, Father’s Day is especially hard. We had a very close relationship with him calling me “Big Daughter” because I am the oldest child. I can still hear him say in that southern drawl of his, “now, Big Daughter.”

Daddy was a long tall drink of water, skinny as a rail, ate like a horse and never gained a pound. He loved children and resented anyone referring to their children as “kids”. He would say, “they are not billy goats, they are children.”

He was meticulous about his dress and hated to be late for anything. If we kids stepped on the toes of his polished shoes we were in trouble. Dad was a very kind man—cutting firewood for older people who couldn’t do it anymore, visiting older people and the sick.

Dad didn’t have hobbies, work was his hobby. He worked a fulltime job all his life, raised a huge garden, mowed acres of lawn and also helped his own Dad with the farm. Every Sunday he was in church without fail.

Unfortunately life handed him a bad hand when he retired. He developed a work related lung disease then rheumatoid arthritis. He was only 72 years old when he died. Happy Father’s Day, Dad, we miss you!

Lonn, LoraLee and Katie came over to have Father’s Day lunch with Michael and me. Nat didn’t feel up to joining us so Michael and I went into town later and visited with him taking the fixings for root beer floats.

For Father’s Day I gave Michael a subscription to Ancestry.com. He has always had a keen interest in his ancestors and I thought he would enjoy this as a gift. Well, I hit that one right on the head. He spent a couple hours right off the bat researching this morning finding someone generations ago on his Dad’s side of the family that was born in Massachusetts in 1730!!!!

About Me

Mike is a retired rancher/construction company owner. Janna is a retired registered nurse. We met almost 20 years ago and in spite of sounding corny, it was love at first sight. We have been truly blessed in our lives together.
We enjoy being outdoors with our little Schnauzer, Emmi.
Janna loves to quilt, cook, and read. Mike builds furniture, researches "stuff" on the computer and is a Sudoku pro. He is also the chief mechanic for all our older stuff such as the 1996 Country Coach motor home we now travel in! We love retirement!